Saint Gerald

In the 16th century, his reliquary, which was made of silver, was taken by the Calvinists, who scattered his bones; but the faithful found a way to collect a portion of them. The Abbey of Aurillac gave birth to the c ity of the same name, which subsequently became very significant and was for a long time the ca pital of Upper Auvergne. This abbey, after maintaining its regular discipline with great reputation until the 15th century, was given at that time to commendatory abbots who allowed laxity to enter. This caused it to pass in the following century to secular canons who changed it into a collegiate chapter, while retaining the commendatory abbot, with the approval of Pope Pius IV.

The parish of S aint-Gérault, in Aurillac, possesses th e venerated re mains of its patron saint. They currently rest in its church, rebuilt on the foundations of the one that the illustrious Saint had raised under the patronage of the holy apostles Peter and Paul. A great gathering of pilgrims has come, for nine centuries, to honor his memory there.

To compose this biography, we have made use of Balliet, the *Lives of the Saints of Limousin* by M. Labiche de Belguefort, and *Local Notes* by the Reverend Abbé Peyrac, vicar of the parish of Saint-Gérault, in Aurillac. — Cf. *Life of the Saint* by Odo of Clu ny, and the R everend Father Dominique de Jésus, in his *Parenetic History* of the three patron saints of Upper Auvergne.